The Pope, from Montserrat: "Thank you, Catalonia, for receiving people from so many countries and integrating them"

MontserratIn Montserrat, the spiritual heart of Catalonia, Saint Ignatius of Loyola examined his sins to begin leading a life in God's service, abandoning the sword that had always accompanied him as a knight. With this reference and commending himself to La Moreneta, Pope Leo XIV made a strong plea for peace this Wednesday in a turbulent world. "May hatred give way to hope and peace," he stated from inside the basilica after the rosary prayer presided over by himself. But he also had a message in favor of immigration when he finished his speech: "Thank you, Catalonia, for having welcomed so many people from other countries, because you teach how to integrate everyone into a single family," he said from the outside, in line with what he had defended on Tuesday at the Lluís Companys Stadium.

A message he already gave in Congress, when he insisted on countering the dynamic of polarization while once again exhibiting his approach to the migratory phenomenon.

RecordOn the other hand, he commented that the Virgin Mary invites humans to "recognize ourselves as brothers," where "no one is left out and where communion is stronger than division." In this regard, he asked Saint Mary to teach the faithful to "renounce hurtful words," to "slander," and to help with "love in the family" and citizens in general, "on social media, in political debates, and in Christian communities." A message he already gave in Congress, when he insisted on refuting the dynamic of polarization while once again exhibiting his approach to the migratory phenomenon.

Remember

In his speech, Leo XIV recalled when his predecessor, Pope Francis, offered the golden rose to the image of Our Lady of Montserrat. "I am happy to be able to be at the feet of the Moreneta to entrust to her, full of confidence in her maternal intercession, my Petrine service [as successor of Saint Peter, as Pope] and the mission of the Church in a world that cries out for justice and peace," he stated in Catalan, as on so many other occasions in entire paragraphs, which he alternated with others in Spanish.

The pontiff concluded the speech in the country's language by paraphrasing the Virolai, although without literally taking the text from Father Jacint Verdaguer: "Of the Catalans you will always be the princess, of the Spaniards and of the whole world." And he added what else to say to the Mother of God: "You are my treasure, I am your mother, do not be afraid."

For his part, the abbot of Montserrat, Father Manel Gasch, thanked the Pope for his "testimony in favor of every human being and the radicality of the denunciation of violence to achieve a world without wars." The abbot's speech, unlike that of the cardinal archbishop of Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium Lluís Companys, was mostly in Catalan. The bishop of Sant Feliu, Xabier Gómez, who is the ordinary in Montserrat, also addressed words of gratitude to the Pope on a day marked by the emotion felt by the faithful with the veneration of Our Lady of Montserrat and the singing of the Virolai. The religious celebration was also attended by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull, ministers Óscar Puente and Ana Redondo, and several councilors.

The division on the national axis of the Catholics present at Montserrat, some nationalists and independentists and others unionists, generated a concatenation of flags that showed opposing ideologies, but which did not overshadow the union for devotion to the Pope and the Moreneta. The rosary was recited in Catalan and the litanies were in Latin, a language that on this apostolic journey had a testimonial role – nothing to do with what Benedict XVI had given it.